Internship at Les Cols, a sustainable restaurant with 2 Michelin stars

Lea Madani is from the Lebanese capital, Beirut. In the academic year 2020/21, she decided to move to Sant Pol de Mar and study the Master in Culinary Arts and Kitchen Management at EUHT StPOL. She did her internship at the sustainable restaurant Les Cols (Olot), with two Michelin stars and led by chef Fina Puigdevall. Once the internship is over, Lea is now part of the kitchen team at this restaurant, also recognized with a green Michelin star for its commitment to sustainability.

If you want to know Lea’s testimony, be sure to read the following lines.

From Lebanon to La Garrotxa via Sant Pol de Mar

“I chose to do the master’s internship at Les Cols restaurant because I wanted to learn how to make an ingredient such as vegetables – which have always been treated as a garnish – to be the highlight of a dish,” explains Lea Madani, a former student of the Master in Culinary Arts and Kitchen Management.

After attending the masterclass that Les Cols chef Fina Puigdevall and her daughter Martina did at EUHT StPOL kitchen amphitheater, Lea had it even clearer: “Les Cols restaurant was number one on my list and always I thought that being part of this team would be a dream ”.

So, the dream has come true. At the end of the five modules of the Master in Culinary Arts and Kitchen Management, Lea began her internship at the sustainable restaurant Les Cols.

Her experience at Les Cols restaurant

“I started my internship in the snack and pastry section and then I moved to the hot section. During the six months of internship I used many modern cooking techniques that I had seen during the Master ”, Madani explains.

In addition to being part of the Les Cols team, Lea also explains that during the summer that she had “the opportunity to experiment in the world of catering” through different events organized from this restaurant with two Michelin stars.

Now, once the internship is over, Lea Madani is part of the staff of this restaurant.

“The best thing about having done my internship at Les Cols is that now I’m part of an incredible and creative team that I have admired since I moved to Spain”

Internship in a sustainable restaurant

In addition to having two Michelin stars, Les Cols restaurant received in 2020 the Michelin green star, which recognizes those restaurants committed to sustainability.

This is how Fina Puigdevall, chef from Les Cols (Olot, Girona) defines her way of working and her commitment to sustainability in the Michelin Guide: “We defend local produce and its seasonality, what we understand as” non-traveled food “; in fact, we have a large vegetable garden, fertilized with compost, in which we grow organic vegetables as well as native products in danger of extinction ”.

This was also one of the reasons that encouraged Lea Madani to do her internship in this sustainable restaurant: “The concepts of sustainability are growing more and more and I thought that Les Cols would be the perfect opportunity to learn more about it”, declares Madani.

After the Master…

Lea Madani explains that she chose to study the Master in Culinary Arts and Kitchen Management to complete her training and experience in the hospitality industry. “When looking for master programs specialized in gastronomy, I found the EUHT StPOL Master that caught my attention for its variety of modules and content that I believed they could improve my knowledge of the culinary industry and raise it to another level.” And she adds: “In addition to its reputation and ranking, it is number 1 in Spain and 24 worldwide in hospitality and leisure management.”

Lea’s professional goal: “to have my own gastronomic restaurant”. To do this, she would like to continue growing professionally and constantly learn from great chefs and leaders in the culinary industry. And, if she had to start over, she is clear about what she would do: “I would definitely repeat the same itinerary because the effort is worth it.”

With her experience, Lea has a piece of advice for anyone who wants to dedicate themselves to the culinary arts: “Hard work, perseverance and determination are keys to reach what you want to achieve.”